Author: DeniseMpls

Denise Felder (DeniseMpls) is a writer and career adviser encouraging individuals and challenging systems to close opportunity gaps in education and employment. More about DeniseMpls Career Services: http://denisefelder.com/about/

Potential students and job seekers, however, often don’t know about the innovative work and high earning potential that manufacturing careers offer. And parents of potential students -- who influence what their children study in college -- have misconceptions about what it’s really like to work in manufacturing.

Employers want students and employees to have the skills needed to make good presentations – verbal communications, ability to relate with different types of people, research skills, and the willingness to take responsibility for projects.

Once upon a time career training in high schools was separate from the academic programs that college-bound students took. Today, ACTE reports that more than 70% of high school CTE concentrators pursued postsecondary education shortly after high school.

The good news is, Minnesota has developed a data system to answer these questions.
The Statewide Longitudinal Education Data System, or SLEDS, brings together student data from pre-kindergarten through completion of higher education and into the workforce. By bridging existing data with other new data, a range of questions can be answered to gauge the effectiveness of current programs and design improvement strategies to help students.

A new tool provided by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), you are now able to find out where graduates got jobs for every major educational program offered in Minnesota. This is a way for you to see how your degree or credentials match employer demand.

Middle-age has a way of sneaking up on you.
All of the sudden you realize your hair is a bit grayer, your waistline a bit bigger, and the career you thought you wanted is not going in the direction you had hoped. Some try to recapture their youth with new cars, clothes and makeovers. Others go on a trip hoping to find inspiration and adventure, while others simply accept an unfulfilling career. None of those was an option for me!